Paper towel.



when practically saturated with moisture UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR D. LITTLE, OF BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO ARTHUR D. LITTLE, INCORPORATED, 013 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

PAPER TOWEL.

No Drawing.

To all 11:71 0m it may concern- Be it known that I, ARTH R D. LITTLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brookline, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented-certain'new and useful Improvements in Paper Towels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to paper towels and similar articles, the object of the invention being ,to provide articles of this kind combining with the necessary highly bibulous or absorptive Character, such degree of me-.

chanical strength, even when wet, as is sufiicient for their intended use.

Sanitary considerations, cheapness and convenience have led to many attempts to substitute paper for cloth as a material for towels, but in no case within my knowledge have the results been satisfactory. Unsized paper is sufficiently absorptive but is deficient in mechanical strength when wet. Sized paper, on the other hand, may have the necessary strength to withstand handling when wet, but is comparatively unabsorbent, and is usually stiff and harsh to the touch when crumpled. If paper be lightly sized, it loses in absorptive capacity and softness in proportion as it gains in mechanical strength, with the result that under no conditions does it combine a high degree of absorptive" capacity with adequate strength in the wet condition.

I have found that towels having a highly absorptive capacity combined with suflicient mechanical strength to endure handling even maybe made as follows: A thin, highly flexible water leaf or unsized paper possessing the property of absorbing water promptly and in large amount, said paper being of the kind now commonly used for towels or napkins, is reinforced along rela-. tively narrow and preferably connecting or intersecting lines, which lines bound areas of paper retaining unchanged or substantially unchanged its orginal absorptive capacity. The reinforcing lines may be varied in width, number and spacing to afford the necessary strength, and the thickness and'texture of. the paper may be selected to i give the requisite absorptive capacity. By

imprinting'the reinforcing lines on crimped or crinkled papers, such as are commonly used for napkins or towels a material lncrease Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 29, 19114.

Application filed September 23, 1912. Serial N 0. 721,922.

in the absorptive surfaces bounded by these lines is secured.

The reinforcing lines may comprise films of water-resisting material printed, ruled or otherwise applied to the sheet, or completely orpartially impregnating. the .sheet, the essential requirement being that the material shall possess sufficient strength, along the lines of reinforcement, to prevent the wet sheet from being reduced, under ordinary conditions of handling, to a pulpy mass as is the case with the untreated sheet. Or, as a modified embodiment of the invention, the lines of reinforcement may be produced in or from the structure of the paper itself, by treatment with appropriate modifying reagents. In either case, the size of the absorbent areas bounded by the reinforcing lines is in large part determined by the length of the fibers composing the sheet, it

being desirable that a considerable proportion of the fibers within the absorbent area should be at some point in contact withthe reinforcing substance, and held by it in place. For example, I have found absorbent areas three-sixteenths of-an inch square to be satisfactory in case of ordinary cotton or sulfite papers, although considerable latitude inthis respect is permissible. If desired, the lines may be of varying width, as

, for example a comparatively coarse reticulation of relativel wide and strong lines of reinforcement, t e larger areas so formed being further subdivided by finer lines.

As examples of the first of the abovementioned methods of treatment-{I may apply a suitable reinforcing and water-resisting material by printingor analogous methods, the material being applied in a liquid or pla tic state. is usually structureless, and it is essential The reinforcing material along the intended lines of reinforcement or reticulation in the form of a thick solution in water, and thereafter rendered insoluble and sufficiently waterproof for the purposes of my invention by treatment with formaldehyde either as a vapor or in solution. Such use of formaldehyde has the further advantage'of sterilizing the towel. A solution of casein to which formaldehyde in the proper proportion has been directly ing the necessary reinforcement may be employed. I

It is obvious that the reinforcing material may be colored as desired for the production of special designs or artistic efi'ects, and

that the arrangement of the lines of rein-' forcement or reticulation may be such as will produce or contribute to such effects. It is further obvious that the lines themselves need not be rectilinear or even'continuous, nor need they bound completely.

close areas so long as the reinforcing material is so distributed locally as to provide the requisite degree of strength in the towel as a Whole when wet.

Examples of the second 'mode oftreatment above mentioned consist in forming the reinforcing lines from thesubstance of the paper itself, as by printing on the water leaf paper with strong sulfuric acid or zinc chlorid solution in such manner as locally to parchmentize the paper along the selected lines, and thereafter washing to remove the chemical.

While I prefer to use a true Water leaf paper for reinforcement as described, it is obvious that any paper of suflicient absorptive capacity and rapid rate of absorption may be substituted therefor, provided such paper is not objectionably stilf or harsh in use.

In the reinforcement of thin, highly-flexible and absorptive papers of the character contemplated in accordance with this inven ti'on,- no substantial or appreciable condensation of portions of the sheet occurs, so that the finished towel is of substantially uniform thickness throughout and is substantially free from condensed lines or areas. I

1. A towel or similar article consisting of a thin, highly-flexible sheet of absorptive paper, having a reinforcing-agent applied thereto along lines selected with reference to the reinforcement of the entire sheet, said towel of substantially uniform thickness throughout and free from condensed portions.

2. A towel or similar article consisting of a thin, highly-flexible sheet of absorptive paper, havingv a -,water-resisting reinforcingagent applied thereto by printing or equivalent method along lines selected with reference to the reinforcement of the entire sheet, said towel of substantially uniform thickness throughout and free from condense-d portions.

3. A towel or similar article consisting of a thin, highly-flexible sheet of crinkled absorptive paper, having a reinforcingagent applied thereto along lines selected with reference to the reinforcement of the entire-sheet, said towel of substantially uniform thickness throughout and free from condensed. portions.

(l. A towel or similar article consisting of a thin, highly-flexible sheet of crinkled absorptive paper, having a'Water-resisting reinforcing-agent applied thereto by printing or equivalent method along lines selected with reference to the reinforcement of the entire sheet, said towel'of subtantially uniform thickness throughout and free from condensed portions.

in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR D. LITTLE/ In testimony whereof I aflix my signature W'itnesses:

JOHN G. CALLAA, HARRY S. Moan. 

